This long weekend we took off on a nice, long roadtrip to the interior. First stop, the parents place on Shuswap lake. the 2nd, to see some friends at Green Lake (Near 70 Mile House) a mere 3.5 hours from our first destination.
Round trip was exctly 1,111 KM - how crazy is that? Well, not as crazy of the accident we missed by a mere two kilimeters... Check this out...
We had just left my parents place, and were literally only on the road about 8 minutes when we come across a DEAD stop of traffic - our lane was at a standstill as far as the eye could see, and coming the other way was NOTHING.
I turned on my cell and called my dad - it was so cool, it was like being on 'who wants to be a millionaire' and phoning a friend... I said "I think there has been an accident about a dozen km before Chase - it must've just happened, can you ask my brother to turn on his police scanner? If he hears anything, call me back!" Two minutes later, my dad calls back - "yes, there has just been a major accindet - ambulances are on the way. The police are about to issue an alert to all radio stations that they are going to completely close the highway. Here's what you want to do... I slipped a couple of Forrest Service maps into your map pocket - pull out the Kamloops district map. Got it? Good - go back 3 kn to the Squilax bridge - you following me? Great, you're going to go back to that bridge - but before crossing, you'll see a Turtle Valley Road turnoff - it's gravel, but it's graded all year, so youre beamer will be fine - go through Turtle Valley, keep right through all turns, and in about 20 minutes, you'll come out about 2km west of Chase - this'll save you about 5 hours - the police are turning everyone back to the Vernon route."
So, I turn around, take the logging road, and BAM - I'm on the other side of the accident twenty minutes later - just in time to see the Ambulances racing back to Kamloops. I felt SO elite... there must've been 300 cars in that line up in front of me, and in the 10 minutes I sat waiting and talking to y dad, probably another 200 lined up behind me. Imagine how long that lineup would be after a 7 hour closure? I lost a total of 20 minutes... all those other people lost 4 to 5 hours... well, except for the two that lost their lives, and the one that's going to lose his license (and freedom?)
And most of all, I'm so lucky that I didn't leave 3 minutes earlier...
So other than that, we had a great trip - it got cold at Green Lake at night (3 degrees) but on the way back, it was 26 degrees out from Ashcroft straight to Coquitlam. And today, well, today it's raining.
Apparently the day we got back from Cancun marked the last of a Vancouver heat wave. Everyone I know tells me it was mid twenties all week, and true - when we got home at 12:30AM it WAS 18 degrees out, so it must've been a scorcher of a day. However, week that followed was grey, damp, and chilly. Our tans faded fast.
Ah, but there's a bright side! This week has been awesome so far - Starting Sunday afternoon, the sun came out again, and hasn't gone away since. Both yesterday, and today, Carole and I made the 11 minute drive to White Pines beach as soon as I got home from work, and spent an nice hour (4pm to 5pm) relaying on the shore, reading a book, and catching some rays. Normally I'd be squandering that hour on sunshine by checking email, writing a blog entry, having a beer, paying some bills, etc - but as hard as it is to wind down from the day of work, I think that this routine is going to stick with us as long as the weather does. Besides, White Pines is 11 minutes away... Bunzen Lake is 12. Belcarra Beach is about 15 minutes away, and Rocky Point is only 9. The same for Pleasantside. We've got so many bodies of water within 15 minutes of here, it's a wonder we ever go out to the back yard on a sunny day!
Anyway, it feels great, and the tans are coming back quick! It was 26 today, and it's supposed to hit 28 tomorrow.... you know where I'll be, if you wanna hook up for a frosty (concealed) beverage on the beach at about 4:30 !
I did nothing this weekend - I just vegged. Well, we went grocery shopping, and I cooked a lot of my favorite dished (Dolmathes & Tatzik, Cochinita Pibil, Leek & Potato Soup, etc) but other than the cooking, all I did was watch movies.
Antoine Fisher, Harry Potter, 21 Grams, Master & Comander, Scary Movie 3, and probably a few more that I'm forgetting. My only other trip out of the house was to the theatre, to see Troy.
I know, this is a pretty lame blog entry - but if it serves any purpose at all, maybe it'll remind me to get off my ass next weekend and get something done!
Hello! Been a while, eh? Well, April 25th thru May 2nd we were in Cancun, then the next week I was on a training course in Vancouver, but it was like a day and night thing and I didn't get ANY free time for 6 straight days... anyway, I'm now back, and unwound a bit, so I'm ready to write.
I kept a bit of a journal while in the Yucatan, so I'm going to go back and make blog entries for May 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, May 1 and I'll add some pictures too...
So go back (click the April Archive) and read 'em! It may take me a few days, but they're coming!